The moment the Formless Pure Ice was brought out, the Dusk Whale in the Greenland region, directly north of Shi Ming, suddenly grew agitated!

’This aura!’

It made its very soul tremble!

The allure of the Formless Pure Ice to the Dusk Whale was engraved deep within its genes. Every cell in the Dusk Whale’s body sang with joy, filled with an insatiable, unavoidable desire for evolution! The massive sea beast was once again jolted from its light slumber, and it began to tear through the depths of the ocean in a frenzy!

This time, it was determined to have it!

Its massive whale fins churned the deep-sea currents, and a murky yellow slime clung to its withered bones.

Half-rotted, half-intact.

Wherever it passed was disaster, but also rebirth.

Its body was huge, but it was incredibly fast!

Back in the Mediterranean Sea, the Dusk Whale’s speed had been limited by the water temperature and the thousands of miles it had traveled, yet it was still on par with the *Grand Fortune*. But here in the colder northern seas, it was in its element, its speed increasing by more than half!

...

[What a fine move, transferring the risk! The Eye of the World is very impressed!]

[But the Eye of the World must remind you that the Dusk Whale’s desire for the Formless Pure Ice far exceeds your imagination. It has already sensed the Formless Pure Ice’s existence and is rushing over at top speed! Even so, this terrifying S-rank sea beast will still need more than thirty minutes to arrive!]

[Perhaps you could use this time to think of a strategy to deal with it?]

’More than thirty minutes?’

That was within Shi Ming’s expectations!

Next, he decided to adopt a more conservative approach to the fight.

’I can’t push this guy too far. This muscle-head is obsessed with victory and glory. If I break his defenses, he might just lose it and start stacking buffs recklessly. When the snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman who reaps the benefits will probably be that whale!’

Knowing that the Dusk Whale had indeed sensed the location of the Formless Pure Ice, Shi Ming put it away.

’Leaving that thing out would affect the battle too much.’

Quert, his body covered in magma scars, was worthy of his 50th-ranked skill. Like a War God, he grew stronger the more he fought. His armor was scorched into a battle-damaged state, and after activating his skill three times, his power and aura had increased by a full thirty percent!

Fight!

Shi Ming’s Ice Sword struck Quert’s armor from a distance, shattering with a CRACK.

Another gash was added to the refined steel armor.

But his skin, even harder than his armor, was only marked with a shallow cut.

The Magma Giant’s defense was inferior to the Black Tortoise, but activating the boost three times also brought considerable buffs and recovery abilities. To Quert, these ordinary scars were nothing. They would fade completely in less than two days.

Only the scars he tore open himself could remain permanently on his body—medals from every victory!

In the future, even in death, he would be covered in medals!

"Kid! You’re not bad!"

"Today, let’s fight to our hearts’ content!"

Quert, wreathed in magma, fought with grand, sweeping motions. Flames erupted from his scars, flowing with his twitching muscles. The smell of sulfur and rust mingled in the air as he stood as firm as a boulder!

Meanwhile, faint golden secret patterns shimmered on Shi Ming’s body. His three clock-like pupils held the detached divinity of a Titan. Every move he made carried the rhythm of time, effortless yet masterfully executed.

The two S-rank Awakened fought a magnificent battle in this stretch of sea!

The surviving Samurai of the Beheading Great Saber, however, were trembling in fear, furtively chipping away at the hard ice and preparing to escape.

DING!

Another 13th second passed.

Shi Ming once again took out the Formless Pure Ice, deliberately forcing out its astonishing chill.

’So the Dusk Whale doesn’t lose its way.’

The air turned chillingly cold.

As time resumed, the Samurai stared at the seawater, which seemed on the verge of freezing, and were utterly bewildered.

...

"To hold your own against me for twenty minutes!"

"Kid, you’ve really impressed me!"

"But I!"

"Will never be defeated!"

Quert’s fists whistled through the air, the sound deep and rumbling like thunder.

Pieces of his armor flaked off. His body, covered in magma scars that resembled the gnarled, intertwining roots of an old tree, had crimson magma flowing within them. Then, he added another scar over the left side of his chest! This was the fourth time he had used Invincible War God today!

To a Gladiator, scars are merely medals!

Victory is a craving born from the very soul!

An ordinary Awakened might find it hard to understand such obsession, but Quert, a man of high standing, hadn’t experienced such a dopamine-fueled thrill in a long, long time!

’It’s about time!’

Shi Ming took out the Formless Pure Ice one last time, guiding the Dusk Whale forward.

’Quert, since you’re such a great fighter,’

’why don’t you test out how strong this Dusk Whale is for me!’

Shi Ming’s calculation was ingenious.

If Quert actually won, that would be great. When it came to the speed of absorbing Sea Beast Blood, no one could surpass Shi Ming. He would reap the benefits for free, while Quert would get his honor—a perfect outcome for both.

If he lost, it didn’t matter either. "Helping" to exhaust the S-rank sea beast’s power and sharing the risk of facing it directly was the greatest assistance Shi Ming could ask for. This confrontation with the Dusk Whale was different from the last one against the Three-Eyed Golden Crow. Back then, Shi Ming had the Formless Pure Ice to completely counter the Golden Crow, but now, that same item was a stimulant for the Dusk Whale.

Having someone else bear the risk couldn’t be better.

Whether Quert won or lost, Shi Ming was guaranteed to come out on top!

ROAR!

Shi Ming could already hear the Dusk Whale’s roar.

The viscous, murky yellow Illusion Realm that only he could perceive once again flooded his mind: a mountain of corpses soaking in a sea of blood, new life gestating amidst decay. On a battlefield of death, it was the twilight of the gods, their doom sealed in blood—a predestined silence and finality!

’It’s here!’

Shi Ming’s gaze sharpened!

"Quert!"

"I have another S-rank skill! And today, you’re going to witness it!"

"Its name is:"

"Great Summoning Technique: Dusk Whale!"

"Today, you lose!"

Three nautical miles away, the Dusk Whale leaped from the water, and the strong, thick stench of rot finally washed over them.

The last rays of the setting sun were about to sink below the horizon.

But this stretch of sea was now welcoming the true dusk!

The magma scars on Quert’s body tightened as he felt a powerful threat. The Samurai from the Beheading Great Saber who hadn’t yet escaped stared in terror at the behemoth charging from the distance. Gazing upon the horrifying giant whale, half-rotted and half-intact, even the thought of running began to rapidly fade away.

Their skin also began to silently rot.

...

Dragging its half-decayed, maimed body, the Dusk Whale finally saw its target!

It was a whaling ship run aground on the ice, and two "insects" hovering in the air!

ROAR!

It charged forward with the force of a thousand tons, its body, hundreds of meters long, leaping into the air. A thick, yellow fluid dripped heavily from its ruined half, staining even the seawater a viscous yellow. This time, without a moment’s hesitation, it unleashed its ultimate ability!

Ragnarok!

With a heaven-and-earth-shattering screech, the sea—still faintly lit by the afterglow of the set sun—took on a dilapidated hue.

In the eyes of Shi Ming, Quert, and the Samurai, the vibrant, colorful world turned into a singular, murky yellow.

The seawater, the ship, the afterglow, the blood, the magma... everything, red or green, transformed into the despairing color of corpse-water.

Inevitable decay was accelerating.

Several crew members on the Beheading Great Saber discovered in horror that their bodies were rapidly breaking down, oozing pus as their arms began to fall off... The B-rank and A-rank Awakened had a slightly higher resistance to this decay, but only slightly.

[The Eye of the World has witnessed today’s most spectacular scene!]

[It was as if it personally witnessed the withering of the World Tree, the fall of giants and einherjar, the sacrifice of Odin... How breathtaking! But the Eye of the World did not lose itself in awe, for it understood that Shi Ming still needed its intel, and it was never stingy in that regard.] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[S-rank Skill: Ragnarok]

[Recreates the battlefield of the gods’ fall, causing all creatures within the area to unavoidably and irreversibly descend into chaos, decline, decay, and death! For every 30 seconds a creature remains on this battlefield, their Defense Power, Physical Strength, Endurance, or Spiritual Power will be randomly and permanently reduced by one, and this point will be converted into 10 points of Entropy.]

[When the amount of Entropy exceeds the total attribute value, corruption will befall them!]

’So nasty? Not only does it accelerate decay, it permanently reduces your stats?!’

’What kind of insane debuff is this?!’

The intelligence from the Nameless Cocoon hadn’t revealed this at all. It only showed creatures inexplicably decaying, with more powerful life-forms simply lasting longer.

The thirteenth second of the Divine Hall of Time activated!

Time stopped!

Shi Ming instantly activated Sun-Shooter Step to shoot high into the sky, engaged his "Super Overload" trait, and streaked away at three times the speed of sound. He fled the battlefield of the gods, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

’I’m not letting you reduce a single one of my stats!’

’I "summoned" the Dusk Whale, so if it beats Quert, that’s my win!’

’I "summoned" Quert too, so him fighting the Dusk Whale is the same as me fighting it!’

’Being skilled at using weapons and tools is one of the wonderful qualities humanity evolved.’

...

...

...

Quert looked at the charging Decaying Whale and this terrifying Domain of Decay, and for the first time, the thought of retreating crossed his mind.

But [Constantinople] was not here. He had been entrusted by Renhuang to help the Beheading Great Saber snatch the White Dragon Whale, and he had come alone on a whim.

Escape?

The Dusk Whale had already locked onto both of them!

Neither of them could escape!

An enormous wave crashed down upon the [Beheading Great Saber]. The ship, made of refined steel, went from pristine to rust-covered in an instant, becoming even more decayed than the *Yellow Rock*, which had been sunk for over a decade. When the giant wave struck, the ship completely disintegrated. The low-rank Awakened who hadn’t managed to escape were reduced to withered bones the moment they got close to the whale, dissolving into pools of slime.

They then sank into the sea, to gestate new life in the unknown future.

Quert completely sobered up from his battle frenzy. He understood that he needed to retreat. An S-rank sea beast was a crisis, but also a treasure. It wouldn’t be too late to come back and vanquish this giant whale after gathering the power of the Twelve Stars.

Unfortunately, the giant decaying whale was in hot pursuit, its cavernous maw on the verge of swallowing him whole!

’There’s no escape!’

He gritted his teeth.

And added another scar to his body!

"Damn it!"

"How did that little bastard escape so fast!"

He was now in an extremely awkward predicament.

If he went all out, sparing no expense to kill this sea beast, it wouldn’t be a total loss if he could achieve a second awakening. At worst, he would just never use "Invincible War God" again, pretending he never had the skill in the first place.

But he knew very well that this was the worst possible option.

Absorbing the blood of an S-rank sea beast takes at least two hours and cannot be interrupted. During that process, the buffs from Invincible War God would gradually fade. He would have done all the hard work just to benefit Shi Ming, ultimately gaining nothing for himself.

But if he fought conservatively, he would have a hard time defeating this sea beast, and the scars he’d already given himself today would be worthless.

He understood now.

He had lost.

Lost completely and utterly.